AMD Announces Strategy To Hook Up World To Internet

Semiconductor supplier AMD announced Thursday (Oct. 28) it has launched an initiative to enable 50 percent of the world's population with Internet connectivity and computing capabilities by 2015, revolving around

MANHASSET, N.Y.  Semiconductor supplier AMD announced Thursday (Oct. 28) it has launched an initiative to give 50 percent of the world's population Internet connectivity and computing capabilities by 2015, revolving around a low-cost consumer device it has developed called the Personal Internet Communicator (PIC).

Under the initiative, coined 50x15, AMD will partner with organizations in several countries considered targets for improving technological access in. Three of the initial customers include the Tata Group in India, CRC in Mexico, and Cable and Wireless in the Caribbean.

According to an AMD spokesperson, Tata is set to market the PIC to cities in India starting over the next week. In November, CRC will offer the device to local distributors in Mexico. Cable and Wireless will deploy the PIC in support of disaster relief efforts throughout the Caribbean.

After marketing the PIC in these areas, AMD plans to make the device available in other global regions, including China and Russia.

Whether AMD will market the PIC device in established regions such as the U.S., Europe, or Japan, where the company's processors are deployed in higher-cost computing solutions, remains unclear. A company spokesman did not rule out that possibility, but emphasized AMD will initially focus on marketing the PIC device to first-time technology users in areas considered high-growth regions.

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